Storm: Rain Arc

Chapter 3

Confrontations

~Sasuke~

The connection I felt with the girl was getting stronger and it made me sick. I thought about just not going to see her in the park anymore, but I could not bring myself to stop. I had to see her for some odd reason, at least listen to her voice. It was calming, compared to the annoying voices of all the girls I have known throughout my life, with the exception of my mother. I glanced at another table across the lunchroom, her table. Her violet hair stuck out brightly. I watched as she shook with silent laughter at something her obnoxious spiky-haired friend had said.

"Sasuke?" One of my friend's voices made me break my stare. I turned to Juugo, who was already standing up from his seat. I had to tilt my head back almost entirely to actually look at his face. He was huge, and just as large in his wolf form; though he was the most gentle of all of us except when he was angered. We were the truest to our natures when in animal form. Suigetsu and Karin were both crafty and ruthless as animals, killing whatever crosses their path. Juugo and I were the more intelligent and careful ones, especially when it came to humans around us.

"Hn," I grunted in reply, not knowing what he had said.

"I promised Kakashi I would be home right after school because we have to find a good campsite so we all could go hunting properly. Can you pick me up that chemistry book I need from the library?" he repeated what I supposed he said before with a small smile. I nodded in agreement. I had enough time to go to the library for him. He was failing chemistry and needed the extra credit anyway. With a quick thank you ,he left, going to his next class early.

"Will you walk me to my next class, Sasuke?" Karin, our only female companion, leaned over the table towards me, batting her eyelashes. She never took the hint.

"No." My eyes tightened into a glare and I stalked away from the table in the same direction Juugo went. I heard Suigetsu's laughter over the other student's voices, but continued away from all of them. Kakashi's words replayed in my head. He could be anywhere. … Itachi.

"Do you want to kill me little brother?" Itachi sneered at me. I was on the ground with my face in the dirt. Pain slithered through my veins like a snake.

"You bastard!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, trying to move. I was stuck. The pain was too much for me.

"I'll take that as a yes." My brother giggled and flipped me on my back so I could look at him. "I will return for you when you are ready. We will kill each other, and everything will be over." I watched as his muscles stretched and bones broke until he was in animal form. Red eyes glowered at me before he turned and ran away.

When I opened my eyes I found myself in the boys' bathroom, gripping the edges of one of the sinks. The onyx eyes I was born with were gone, bright red in their place. I stared at myself in the mirror in front of me. I could not do this here. I tried to calm down, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, until my eyes went back to their original color.

When I was completely calm I snuck up to the library to get Juugo's book, and then off campus. I couldn't handle being here.

~Hinata~

After school, Shino and I went to my favorite coffee shop in town, so we could do some of our math homework together. Calculus was definitely not fun. I stretched my arms backward with a small yawn, not knowing I would hit someone.

"E-excuse m-me. I'm s-sorry." I jumped to my feet and apologized to the stranger whose face I still did not look at.

"… Hinata…" Shino whispered my name, and I looked at the person that I hit. A tall, pale man stood in front of me. His long gray-blue hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and his eyes were dark.

"It's alright. I was the one in the way," he apologized to me kindly, taking my left hand in both of his. I felt like my eyes were being trapped by his. He had my complete attention. "My name is Itachi. May I ask what yours is?"

"Hinata," I breathed out my name softly, causing him to smile. His strong hands tightened around mine. As odd as it sounds it seemed like he wanted to eat me.

"Your name is as enchanting as you, Hinata." The second he finished the sentence I pulled my hand from his grasp. My face heated up, and I finally broke the eye contact we were sharing.

"Th-thank you, but I-I have t-to get back to m-my f-friend." I stumbled backwards, not having the nerve to turn my back on him.

"How about I buy you a cup of coffee? Anything you want," he said quickly, trying to get me not to turn back to Shino.

"She's fine," Shino said defensively. Thankfully Shino had not waited a few feet away. He had jumped by my side, like any good friend would.

"I asked her…" The man's dark eyes narrowed into a glare.

"Itachi!" The three of us turned to the sound of the new voice in the doorway of the coffee shop. It was Sasuke.

"Little brother…" he whispered, as Sasuke came closer to us. Two pairs of eyes glared at one another. … Onyx eyes. …the wolf…. What if the reason that the wolf could talk was that he was not a wolf? My eyes widened as I stared at Sasuke. A werewolf, like in the stories and the supernatural movies? If I was right and not crazy, which I might be for thinking this, I already had a feeling about who it was. It made sense. Sasuke had onyx eyes like the wolf. His hair was the same color as its fur. And the wolf told me ….

"Do you hate your sister?" the wolf asked me during one of meetings. We were getting to know little details about one another by now. He had explained how he truly understood being compared to a sibling. The wolf had an older brother who their father loved most of all. Similar to my situation, only Hanabi is younger than me.

"No, do you hate your brother?" he snapped his jaws together, and nodded his head.

"More than anything," his voice whispered in my head. It had a tint of rage in it that made me shiver in fear.

I gulped and looked between the two boys. Anyone could tell they were brothers when they stood next to one another. If it was true, this was his brother, the one he hated.

"This is not the right time, maybe later?" Itachi took one large step that distanced the two Uchihas from each other, and poked Sasuke in the forehead before walking through the glass door, outside. A tall blue-haired man chuckled lightly bumping into Sasuke's shoulder before exiting as well. My eyes finally focused on him. His dark hair hung over his forehead obscured his eyes. I could hear his breathing speed up, like he was hyperventilating.

"Sasuke…" I reached my hand out to touch him, but he took a few steps back, dodging my touch.

"Leave me alone," his voice seethed. It had sounded different then normal, though I did not hear him talk in school all that often. The voice was hoarser, but what truly concerned me was the fact that his eyes had turned blood red… The boy stormed out just as fast as his brother did before him.

"What was that?" Shino asked me, quietly. And I had the same question going through my mind. What had just happened? Did the presence of the person known as Itachi and the fact that Sasuke was similar to the wolf definitely mean him and the wolf were one and the same? I was just being ridiculous, but I had to know.

"I-I'm sorry, b-but I have t-to g-go. See y-you at s-school t-tomorrow." I grabbed my books from the table we were once sitting at and ran out the door. Thankfully, the public library was not too far away, I made it there within minutes. Hopefully I could find answers here.

When I did my research on wolves, things about werewolves came up as well but I originally ignored them. No one could actually believe werewolves existed, except me at this current moment.

Werewolves were men or women who could change shape into a wolf. Legends varied if they could change at will or only during a full moon. In most lore they almost always seemed to give into their animalistic nature which did not seem like the wolf I was meeting. With a sigh, I pushed my bangs out of my eyes and looked around the library. A large orange-haired boy sitting at one of the wooden tables across the room caught my attention. He was tapping his fingers against the table nervously. I knew he looked familiar but I could not place him.

"Sasuke," I heard the large boy whisper, at a figure walking towards him. It was him! A tingle ran down my spine. This had to be a coincidence, or was it a sign to confront him now?

Sasuke took a seat across from the boy, who I now know is one of his friends, and handed him a book. Silently I got up from the table and moved closer to them, hiding among the shelves of books. I was not normally like this, but my curiosity outweighed the musings of my daily conscience.

"Thanks, Kakashi and I found a good area on the map. He sent Karin to go scout it tonight for people and general animal population," the other boy whispered, opening the book to the page he seemed to need.

"We have a problem, Juugo." Sasuke reached over and closed the book, making Juugo completely focus on him. "Itachi is here. And I'm not telling Kakashi."

"You have too, Sasuke, Itachi will kill you," his friend argued, sadness in his eyes.

"Maybe, but I'm taking him to hell with me. When you guys go hunting I'll stay behind and face him, alone." I leaned forward a little to try and listen better, but I knocked down a few hard-covered books in the process, causing the quiet library to be filled with a large bang. The two boys both turned and looked directly at me. My face turned red, and I did the only thing I could think of… I ran.

~Sasuke~

Juugo and I stared at the girl as she ran away. She had probably heard us, but I doubt she understood any of it. Her meeting with Itachi could definitely cause problems for me and her.

"Who was that?" Juugo asked me. I turned back to him and shook my head, pretending I had no idea. She ran away so fast she left her things. When I pushed the thoughts of my brother to the back of my mind, I smelled Hinata's scent more clearly. I gave my friend a silent farewell and grabbed her things. I had to know what she knew, if she knew anything that is.

From all the times I have watched her walk home from our meetings, I knew where her house was without even having to follow her scent. The two-story Victorian house was the biggest on the block. There was a truck in the driveway, meaning at least someone was home. I walked to the front door and rang the bell next to the frame.

"Neji! Get the door!" I heard an obnoxious female voice yell from the other side of the door. It did not sound anything like Hinata, so it must have been her little sister that I have heard so much about.

"She means well, but Hanabi is just overly competitive and doesn't completely understand why we are so different. She'll grow out of it eventually, and then we will act like real sisters." Hinata pushed her two pointer fingers together, a nervous habit I started to notice.

"You're just making excuses for her," I responded with the harsh truth.

"Maybe I am." She sighed after staring at me for a couple seconds.

The door opened and a boy with long black hair and white eyes was glaring at me.

"Can I help you?" You could tell he was tired and not in a good mood, which did not really matter to me, but I still answered him quickly.

"Is Hinata home?" my grip on her bag tightened. She better be home or I came here for nothing.

"Are you a friend of hers?" he asked, not willing to give me a direct answer.

"You could say that." I smirked, raising her bag so 'Neji' could see it. "She forgot her stuff."

"Fine, come in." He gave me another glare and stepped out of the doorway so I could enter. I did slowly after I glanced around me. The house seemed even bigger from the inside. The little sister was sitting on the steps that were not too far away from the door with a book open on her lap. She stared at me openly, trying to size me up. I ignored her and breathed in Hinata's scent. She was on the other side of the wall.

"She's in the kitchen." He turned to point in the direction of the kitchen, though I was already walking in that direction.

"Hn," I grunted, not looking back at the two.

"Who was that?" Hanabi whispered scornfully. I didn't pay attention to hear Neji's response, I was too focused on the girl. I turned the corner and entered the kitchen immediately. Her scent engulfed me entirely; she must spend a lot of time in this kitchen. Hinata was wearing a purple apron; her back was facing me as she chopped vegetables for dinner. Silently I pulled out a chair and took a seat, waiting for how long it would take her to notice.

It took her minutes before she turned slightly, noticing something out of the corner of her eye. Hinata spun around to face me, accidentally letting the large knife she was holding slip out of her hand, and cause a loud clang as it hit the floor.

"H-how did you get in here?" she gasped, her heart was beating faster than a scared rabbit's. It brought a smirk to my face.

"That boy… Neji, let me in." I dropped her stuff that I was holding on the table. "You left your stuff at the library." She glanced at her belongings and then back at me.

"It was an accident," she whispered, dropping her eyes to the floor.

"Dropping the books, yes, but eavesdropping, no." I rose from the chair and walked closer to her. "Did you understand what we were talking about?" I asked, grabbing her chin between two of my fingers, and pulling it up so she would look at my face. Her heart raced even more at the contact.

"You are … the wolf," she whispered so softly I would not have heard it if it wasn't for my good sense of hearing. I sighed and released her face. She knew. I did not know whether to deny it or tell her the truth. Silence surrounded us, as we just stared at each other.

"I…" she was the first one to speak. "I won't tell anyone. It was nice to gain another friend, and I don't want to lose that," Hinata spoke, honestly. I even heard her heart rate slow.

"You're not afraid?" I spat at her, causing her to flinch at my tone of voice. She was shy and nervous, almost fragile to the point if you as much as touch her, she would break into little pieces.

"No," she said firmly, though her body was shaking uncontrollably. I scoffed and turned away from her. It was pathetic. "That man was your brother? The one who killed your family?" she asked. It struck a nerve in my body and I felt the rage I held onto all of these years consume me. I spun back around and pinned her against the counter.

"What do you know about anything?" I seethed at her, our faces inches apart. I knew my eyes were red. I could change at any second.

"I only know what you told me. Don't act this way, you will be no better than him. What would your mother say?" Hinata whispered, tears streaming down her face. I backed away from her and grabbed the top of one of the kitchen chairs, breaking the wood across it. Her knees caved beneath her and she fell to the floor. Her white eyes continued to look at me. I stormed out of her house not looking to see if I passed her sister or the other boy on the way out.

The cool air hit me as I walked quickly down the sidewalk. It calmed me slightly. What would my mother think? She dared to ask me that. My mother would be proud of me avenging her and Father…. My mind called me a liar. She would not be proud. I could almost hear her voice say to me, 'Sasuke, two wrongs don't make a right.' I did not understand what she always meant by that, but now I do.

I grunted to myself and tried to clear out my mind. I already made my decision and Itachi was here. The only thing left to do was kill him and avenge everyone.

End of chapter 3

More things will be explained as the story goes. I have one more chapter planned for this part of it, and then the story is broken up into two other arcs, named Lightning, and Thunder, each for a specific reason. For example this arc is called Rain because Hinata meets Sasuke as a wolf in the rain, simple as that. And also someone asked why Suigetsu wanted to eat Hinata, well that will be explained in probably the first chapter of the next arc, when Hinata and Sasuke's friendship grows even more. I decided to take their relationship slower compared to the other stories I have written about them. I think it will add a little bit more to them as characters. Well anyway thanks for reading and please review. XD